Harmony of matter and energy

Protector's routine - 2

Barney's girlfriend, Angela, was a woman of action, and she gave them all a hard time about everything that happened. She was most upset about the alien. First she crossed herself twice and then she spat at his feet, saying she didn't want to see the unholy creature. That's mostly why Taelon ended up in the bathroom. Yeah, and also because it didn't have any windows, but it did have a door that was easy to secure with a chair on the outside. He couldn't get out if he tried. But he didn't try.

When Jason shut him in, he dutifully and calmly took off his sweatshirt, just like Spike had asked him to. And then he sat down on the toilet seat, all he had to do was point the gun and tell him what to do. He didn't make a peep as he did so, just tilted his head from side to side like some weird bird, and watched Jason walk away without blinking.

As he turned out the light, closed the door behind him, and then pushed a chair up against it, he felt an unpleasant tingling sensation on his back. A nasty feeling. Somehow he just hated to leave the alien in there, in total darkness and... damn it! He almost turned around to at least turn on the bathroom light, only Spike was with him.

He took one last look at the door before crossing the beaded curtain into the next room. There, Angela was already applying band-aids to the bandage around Barney's stomach. Fortunately, no more was needed. Just cleaned and bandaged. There was a lot of blood coming from the wound, but it wasn't actually very deep.

"You're full of News," Angela said as she measured them all with her eyes, then nodded toward the television set up on the kitchen counter.

The pretty news reporter was on the screen right now. It flickered for only a moment before they showed footage of the three of them coming out of the bank and walking towards the van. It was really weird watching myself. Sure, he couldn't see his own face, but he knew that behind the dragon mask was himself. And it was even weirder to see what happened next.

He'd thought the alien had tripped or something, but now that he was looking at it... Fuck... he hadn't tripped, he... something had pushed him backwards at the same time as the gunshot. Since the TV was on low, he couldn't hear much, but... now that Jason saw it, he remembered damn well that it was at that exact moment. It was as if... as if maybe the alien knew when the shot was going to be fired and made Jason back away at the same moment.

Was that possible?

He turned and looked through the curtain at the closed bathroom door.

"It's one of the Protectors. I saw him point a Skrill at us," Spike interrupted his thoughts.

He glanced back at the television. There was a Chinese man in an expensive suit with a stern expression. He looked like an FBI or CIA agent from a crime lab. But Jason wasn't sure if he had seen him outside the bank. There were so many cops and so many people around... His main focus was on Barney, the path to the van, and the alien he was holding. He didn't look around much.

"Put it up," Spike told him, nudging him with his elbow.

He frowned at him, but did as he was told. He walked over to the television and turned it up loud enough for them to understand what the agent was saying.

"... I regret to confirm these reports," he said just then. "Da'an is indeed in the hands of the men who held thirteen hostages in the bank for over an hour during the attempted robbery."

"Are you expecting a ransom demand?" A reporter asked from the crowd around the agent.

"Yes, we are expecting one, and we already have this message for the kidnappers in advance:" the agent looked into the camera. "None of your demands will be accepted. The Taelon Synod has the same policy as this country, and that is not to negotiate with terrorists. And my personal message to you is that I will do whatever it takes, and use whatever means necessary, to get Da'an back and bring to justice anyone involved in his abduction."